Industry Liabilities

The first legal controversy was about a lawsuit between producer Dr. Luke and former artist Ke$ha. There were allegations about the producer manipulating the artist career and sexually abusing her. The article stated how he forced her to do drugs and awful things.  She ultimately wanted to breech the contract because he was controlling.  She began to have an eating disorder and went to rehab in regards to it. I believe that artists should be careful who they sign contracts with. Making sure to a lawyer is present and that if the artist is 18 and in high school parents should be involved the uttermost. Even though Ke$ha’s producer made statements that she only made those accusations about him raping her and the such, so she could breech contract without penalty, then resulted in a lawsuit as well. Personally I think she was being brave by protecting herself.

In the second article, there was a lawsuit claiming Sony Music cheated former winners of the American Idol record label 19 Recordings. The lawsuits represented the interests of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood Christ Daughtry, Clay Aiken and more out of millions of dollars. American Idol Record Label 19 Recordings is suing Sony for allegedly failing o pay former contestants massive amounts of royalties due for their music. Some examples included treating streaming music sources like Spotify as “sales” rather than “broadcast,” which would have cost more under the terms of their contract.  19 Entertainment disputed how Sony Music classified sales of individual songs off albums on iTunes and is seeking at least $10 million in damages. Even though it was mentioned in the article that Sony hadn’t made any comment on the suit, I believe the lawsuit is right and fair.  No matter how long it takes, the plaintiffs should reap justice.

The third intellectual property issue I came across was the 2012 multibillion-dollar lawsuit alleging that Disney heisted the copyrights to some of the most iconic comic book characters.  Despite years of court losses, the resilient company that was founded by Stan Lee in the late 1990s still is attempting to convince the world that it was robbed a decade ago of many valuable franchises including Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man.  Stan Lee Media Inc. is a company based in Colorado that the legendary comic book author Stan Lee founded but is no longer connected to- says it is the rightful owner of the copyrights to such characters mentioned above. There was a lawsuit that took place in October 1988 where Lee assigned the copyrights to his characters to a predecessor of Stan Lee Media. In November 1988, Lee signed an agreement with comic book company Marvel Enterprises “in which he purportedly assigned to Marvel the rights to the characters,” according to the lawsuit. Marvel never registered the copyrights, according to the lawsuit. Disney then scooped up Marvel and went on to make multimillion-dollar movie franchises around many of the characters. There also claims within the lawsuit that movies based on the characters have generated $3 billion in box office receipts in just the past three years. According to the lawsuit, The fact is that Stan Lee Media, Inc. owns the copyrights to Stan Lee’s creations”, but the Plaintiff Stan Lee Media, Inc. expressed that he is entitled to the billions of dollars of profits that have been kept by Defendant Disney. In my opinion, if it’s written and signed on paper in black and white then it is what it is and considered factual and legit. I must say the Plaintiff could have a point especially if he could prove that Marvel was suppose to register the copyrights, but it is also the Plaintiff’s responsibility to revise their steps and protect their creativity in every way possible so matters within this lawsuits would occur ever.

References:

Ingold, J. (2012, October 11). Denver federal lawsuit alleges Disney stole comic book Copyrights. Retrieved on January 10, 2015 from http://www.denverpost.com/ci_21745070/denver-federal-lawsuit-alleges-disney-stole-comic-book

Turner, A. (2014, February 21). American Idol lawsuit: Did Sony Cheat Winner Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood? Retrieved on January 10, 2015 from http://americanidolnet.com/american-idol-lawsuit-did-sony-cheat-winners-kelly-clarkson-carrie-underwood/

Ugwu, R. (2014, October 14). Kesha Accuses Producer Dr. Luke Of Sexual and Emotional Abuse in Lawsuit, Dr. Luke Countersues. Retrieved on January 9, 2015 from http://www.buzzfeed.com/reggieugwu/kesha-sues-producer-dr-luke-for-sexual-assault-and-battery

It's a Win-Win !

I conducted an interview with Antonia Jenae’, a professional in the Music Industry.

ANTONIA JENAE’- is a singer, songwriter, mother, voice coach, mentor, photographer, and very well known as being the background singer for Grammy Award winning artists Joss Stone or the past 11 years. She spoke up that she is the same person on stage as well as off, not indulging with the cliché of not being her self.  Her music invites those to get to know her. Simple tunes with complex storytelling that will captivate your soul and want to hear her sing her story. She has small negotiating tactics. She has negotiated gigs and background work for local artists in the Broward area of Florida.  I was surprised to have a converse with her being that her wrap sheet is lengthy, doing somewhat of what I plan to do as an artist and business owner.

I asked her how she separates people from the problem when negotiating and she expressed how she tells people what her worth is. Most times her price is not the price her client wants to pay, stating the budget is small. When she starts to hear the same language from different mouths, it becomes innate in how she negotiates a job or singing opportunity.  She’s found out that most times than none she has to compromise her initial price to a budget of the other party. It’s called Give and Take, so she stated.  She gave me a tip that I thought was useful and beneficial, to continue to research your market,. She impressed onto me to see if what I have to market is demanded in a certain area (or state).

Within such a competitive market such as the music industry, Antonia understands protocol and positional hierarchy. Respecting who came before you and set the tone and paved the way for most live performers is highly look upon in the music industry. She has had many bosses and artist she has sang behind and who’s allowed their position to cloud exactly what their interests are. In order for beautiful things to occur in a performance or through a contractual agreement as a performer its best to know where you stand. Positional bargaining occurs in the industry. No one is thinking about how both parties can win or be satisfied instead, there is tension and one person who is over the other. It’s not right but it’s happening.

Antonia doesn’t use the hard approach to get what she wants. She uses a soft approach, and aims for a deal to be made so that herself and the other party can be satisfied and work on equal grounds with a mutual benefit. “Sometimes taking less money is worth it, depending on the project, the amount of exposure at the venue, and the built relationship with the party negotiating job with.

For example: Antonia once took a singing gig and settled for an amount she usually wouldn’t, but after taking the opportunity she reaped with 3 more gigs after she finished, and it all equaled up to an increase and not a loss.

Reference:

Structure: Williams, A. (2014, September 3).  Telephone Interview: Antonia Jenae’.

Contact Information: Antonia Jenae’- https://www.facebook.com/antoniajenae

THE Appropriate Age

Many mothers I have come across blatantly ask, if their child is old enough to receive singing lessons.  I often take a few steps backwards before answering that question, because every person with a voice is designed and structured genetically different of course. My response is, “ We can work on diction, articulation, breathing technique and sustaining proper posture, but gaining a higher range or stretching the tessitura is not recommended for children under the age of 12." Being that a child’s voice begins to change once puberty begins and that’s usually by the age of 11 or 12 years old. So there shouldn’t be any strenuous training or exercises towards the voice because their voice will change and need to be trained differently as the child grows and matures.

I currently teach a female child who is 11 years old. After listening to the type of voice she has, it would not be conducive to train her vigorously because she wouldn’t know how to apply the technique, especially when I ask her to sing a little stronger and give more of a forte dynamic. Her voice is not built to give a mature sound yet. Teaching children a song is one thing but training them how to sing with proper technique to create a certain ambience for an audience will be a task.

I never received vocal training as a child. I have been singing since my Mother put the microphone in my hand at the age of 2. Being in choirs, vocal ensembles, oratorical speaking competitions, acting classes, plays, and talent shows, I have watched my own voice change since the age of EIGHT. When I was 10 years old I remember standing in front of the dancing guru, Debbie Allen auditioning for a show. I sang “The Battle Hymn of Republic” and it was stated, I sounded like an older woman singing and that my voice was powerful and huge to be so young. I received the compliment, but didn’t understand what it meant, since I was a kid. So that is said to express this, that a child’s voice can sound a certain way like mine did but should not be intensely trained or should I state, “tamed” until there is a conscious conveyance in the training.

A vocalist should be engaged mentally, physically and emotionally when singing or speaking. This carries over into acting or speaking oratorically as well. It has been proven that most singers do not come into their true voice that will be apart of them for the rest of their life, until the age of  30.

RECOMMENDATION: Let your child be apart of a school or church choir where they are singing mostly in unison (all together on the same note or pitch), but none of the songs should be sung past c2 on the keyboard. Your child should be able to sing in a NATURAL WAY without pushing or shouting. This will help your child to understand the importance of taking care of their voice and not damaging the vocal chords at an early age.

Some other BLOGS to consider on this topic that I used as resources .

Cindy Shadrick

Petra Raspel

Rick Warren: A Life of Purpose

           I watched the web video on A life of Purpose, with Rick Warren as the speaker. Rick Warren has been considered as one of the world’s most influential and leading Christians. He is a pastor who has become a sought after advisor to world leaders and infamously known for writing the book The Purpose-Driven Life.  The video reflects on his own crisis of purpose in the wake of his book’s wild success. He explains his belief that, God’s intention is for us to use our talents & influence to do well.  Pastor Warren never intended on being a famous or even considered himself an author. He didn’t desire to be seen on television preaching either because he didn’t want to be a celebrity. He believes being a pastor, and author is all a service and good stewardship.

            Expressing how others would say they were living life when in reality they just existed shows how Rick Warren thinks. He lets the audience know that everyone was planned to be here by God. There is this inner desire and that no one is here on accident. “You matter; to God, to history, and to this universe.”, he says. We are wired and shaped for a precise action on earth. And living on purpose is required.

           

Pastor Rick Warren inspires me. He shows me consistency of a person with a purpose. Though he isn’t a singer or vocal coach, he definitely is a motivator. I learned that utilizing what was given to me: talent, background, education career, is my service to help others. I understand that I do not own anything during my existence on earth, all I’m required to do is willfully give of my self. So, now I have decided to take stewardship and service into the business I am building.  Using my influence, my identity and my income to make what I was given the abilities to do come to life.

Resource: http://www.ted.com/talks/rick_warren_on_a_life_of_purpose

Steve Jobs: How to Live Before You Die

The blog post discussion on Steve Jobs: “How to live before You die”

The one web video that stroked my curiosity was with speaker Steve Jobs; he spoke on “ How to live before you die”. The college drop out spoke on how he was put up for adoption and found what he loved to do at an early age. After sitting in a typography class he knew that was what he wanted to do since the age of 20. He thought typography was fascinating, and later included it into his computer programming on the new invented Macintosh.

Steve Jobs really inspired me with his simple speech of encouragement and optimism. After being fired from Apple he was able to create two companies that are world renown to this day. His company Next was bought by Apple and Pixar is the 1^st successful animated studio in the world. Expressing to the audience not to lose faith even when life hits you in the head with a brick is one statement that many leaders of a company could relate to. Jobs also stated that the one thing that kept him going was that he loved what he did, and that you gotta find what you love; that’s with work and with your lovers.

Your Work is going to fill a large art of your life and the only way

To be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.

And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.

If you haven’t found it yet keep looking and don’t settle.

As matters of the heart you’ll know, when you find it,

 And in like any great relationship

It just gets better and better

 as the years roll on

So keep looking

Don’t Settle.

- STEVE JOBS

I am inspired by the message Steve Jobs sent through the web video. He makes me not want to stop pursuing brand identities or strategies to create a culture that will stick from decades to a lifetime of generations. He really helped me want to overcome adversities when they come, because if he could be fired from the company he started then rehired that means, everything happens for a reason and a season. I won’t be trapped by dogma; which is living with the results of other people’s thinking or will I let the noise of others’ opinions drown out my own inner voice. Honestly Steve Jobs speech helped me development a deeper knowing on what I need to do as a CEO. I must “ have the courage to follow my heart and intuition because they somehow already know what I truly want to become. Everything else is SECONDARY”. I want to be hungry and foolish for greatness and substantial success.

Resources: http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die

Benjamin Zander: The transformative power of classical music

The word Classical has strong connotation, conjuring up the art and philosophy of Ancient Greece and Rome along with their ideals of balance, proportion and disciplined expression. The composers of the early Classical period changed direction, writing music that was much simpler in texture.

Some might assume that Classical music is a dying genre in the music industry while others would exclaim that “you aint seen nothing yet”, but it will live on forever in the hearts, ears, and eyes of many especially in Benjamin Zander. Benjamin Zander, has been the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic since 1979. He usually conducts seminars for leadership but in this particular case he was sharing the transformative power of classical music. He played a little Chopin and gave different perceptions of the same piece as if he was a child who was learning how to play the piano and continued to grow and succeed in perfecting the piece.   Before he played the piece he asked listeners to catch ahold of the essence of someone that was missed or adored to become present again through memories while he expounded Chopin’s masterpiece.

As I watched and listened to conductor, speaker, and teacher Benjamin Zander convey his expression and passion for classical music though a little bit of Chopin, it inspired me.  This man showed a sincere passion for the art of Classical music like no one I have seen in a long time.  He broke down how some people do not mind classical music, a large group of people never listen to classical music and only a selection of people believe they’re tone deaf. With a hint of humor behind his presentation, he tells the audience that no one is tone deaf! He expresses that if we were tone deaf we couldn’t change the gears on a car, we couldn’t tell the difference between a person from Texas or a person from Rome, or even distinguish the voice of a person on the telephone and what kind of mood they’re in. So basically every one can hear tones, which is exciting.

I saw that the audience was astonished at Zander’s enthusiasm. As a conductor, he doesn’t make a sound, but he depends on his power of ability to make others powerful. He stated that his job was to awaken the possibility in other people, and its shown by the shining of eyes. Zander asked the audience and listeners, Who are we being, as we go back into the world? So I asked myself, Who am I being, that my children’s eye’s are not shining? It really makes a difference of what we say, the words that come out of out mouth. “I would never say anything that couldn’t stand as the last thing I’ll ever say”.

I was impressed by his definition of success. He exclaimed that it wasn’t wealth, and fame and power, but how many shining eyes we have around us. I interpreted that its not the money, or fame, but it’s the impact you have on everyone you encounter on the path of destiny.